Braun, Adolphe
Costumes de SuisseLucerne and Dornach (Alsace), respectively: Fortune Aubert; Agence de la Maison Ad. Braun. Scarce collection of photographic costume plates, with no copies located on OCLC. N.d., circa 1869. With 36 mounted photographs of Swiss women in provincial dress and either engaged in prototypical activities are surrounded by the paraphernalia of such activities. In a neat cursive in the lower margin is written the city that the photo was taken, and so each woman shown is in a sense representative, in her dress and activity, of the named place.Adolphe Braun (1812 - 1877) was a French photographer known for floral studies, Parisian street scenes and Alpine landscapes. In 1855 he was awarded a medal at the Exposition Universelle held in Paris that year. Later he created a business that focused on photographic reproductions of important paintings and sculpture, and his company became a leader in that field. While the set of photos contained in this album have faded somewhat, one can not but be impressed with the sharpness of elements in the image. There is a painterliness to the compositions: the women and their dress might be the primary subject, but many of the images also feature floral decoration and Alpine backgrounds.
[Bookseller: White Fox Rare Books and Antiques ]